Is Drinking Really All That Bad For You?
by C.V. Wilson
Summary: SISTER STORY TO 'DRINKING IS BAD FOR YOU'. Another part of my 'people talking in the bar series. This is basically Beka's POV of Drinking is Bad For You. You don't have to read the first story to understand this one.


A/N: OKay, so I decided to write this fic because ofa request by Prin69 and I can't let down a regular reviewer, so Prin69, this is dedicated to you. Also, I did not mention Rhade's wife or children because I am doing a seperate fic on that. So, please read and review. Flamers will be shot and survivors will be shot again.

Disclaimer: Hellloooo? Who do you think I am?

ANDROMEDANDROMEDANROMEDANDROMEDANDROMEDANDROMEDA

It was another hellhole day in Seefra. I was walking down one of then many abandoned dirty streets trying to kill time, or maybe trying to kill every last feeling in my body, I couldn't be sure. I could feel the hot sun burn into my exposed back and my feet were greeting sore. It was time for a drink. I tuned and headed to the bar.

Before, I never used to drink. I mean I drank every now and then but I wasn't a heavy drinker or anything like that. Now, I drank a lot more than is probably good for you. I mean, don't get me wrong. I'm not as bad as Rhade used to be. I'm not dependent or anything like that, but for a while there wasn't a lot of water to drink and I had to keep hydrated and it's become a sort of habit. I hope it won't get as bad as Rhade's did because I'm pretty sure that if that were to happen, I wouldn't be able to quit, like Rhade did. It was hard for Rhade. The reason he gave for quitting was that he wanted to be a better person. I can respect that but I have a feeling that there is a little more than that. I didn't realize where my feet were leading me until I got to the bar. As I entered the run down room I automatically noticed Harper behind the counter. He seemed to be a little pissed. I think that the blonde that I ran into a little while back had something to do with it. Trance was sitting with him on one of the run down bar stools and the rest of the bar was occupied by few lowlife Seefrans. I was about to head for the bar when I happen to catch someone out of the corner of my eye. Rhade was sitting by himself at one of the tables. I turned to sit next to him.

"Hello Rhade. How's hell treated you this day?" I said sitting down in the chair that I was sure was going to collapsed after a few more people.

"Oh, great. I think that soon I might even stop having daily meetings with the devil." He said back. I smiled. It did seem that we met some sort of devil every other day.

"Hey, Beka!" I heard Harper call from the bar, "you want something to drink."

"Yeah, I'll have a whiskey." I automatically replied, but my eyes caught the glass of water that Rhade was sipping at. I looked at Rhade. He didn't seem to care weather or not I had a whiskey but I thought otherwise anyways.

"You know what Harper," I said back to him, "I think I'll just have a water." I could see Harper's grin shrink slightly.

"So," I said to Rhade, desperately trying to initiate small talk, "have you seen Dylan lately?"

"Not today."

"Oh…" Well. This was awkward. I started tapping the table with my index finger. I couldn't think of anything to talk about with Rhade, not that it surprised me all that much. I looked across the table at him. He was looking off to the side, out the window. I quickly studied his face. Okay, so I'll admit. Rhade isn't exactly hideously deformed, if you get my gist. What? I'm a woman, I have eyes. I don't think I looked too long. At least I hope I didn't. I didn't want it to seem like I'm staring, cause I'm not. I looked down at the glass in his hand. I remember the first time I saw Rhade in Seefra. At the time, I really couldn't care less about him, seeing as Andromeda was about to get a missile lodged in her and Dylan was going to be killed, but I couldn't help but do a double take. That was not the Rhade I knew, that was not the Rhade I remembered and frankly, I liked the old one much, much better. The whole broken down and jaded thing didn't really compliment him. I mean come on, Rhade used to be an admiral on Terazed. Terazed! Do you comprehend how hard it is to be able to do that? And he was really young too. I just couldn't believe what nine months in Seefra had done to him. I smelled alcohol on him all the time and never saw him without the company of his hip flask and the horde of cheap women who surrounded him. It made me sick to my stomach just seeing him throw his life away but now he's stopped or at least he's said he has. I wonder if he'll be able to stay off the drinks because once he starts again he probably won't be able to stop. He must have a killer headache right now, I should know. Flash was a long time ago, almost four and a half years and I have learned a lot since then. I just hope that Rhade can do the same. I'm pretty sure that he can do it though, I mean it's Rhade. He's strong, I'm sure he can handle it. He can handle a lot of things, like Tyr could. Err, why do I always compare Rhade to Tyr. Rhade and Tyr are the polar opposites of each other, the only things they have in common are the bone blades. Tyr mostly about himself. Rhade is a team man. Tyr was bent on passing on his genes and making little Tyrs. When Rhade joined the crew he was looking to learn and improve himself. Tyr said that he would never have children with a human. Rhade….well, I don't know if Rhade would have children with a human. I wonder if he would. Wait? Why do I care? No, I don't care. I don't care…do I? Rhade has always been sort of a mystery. Valentines like a challenge. Not that I'm trying to win him over or anything, I just want to learn more about him. Get to know the guy, the real guy. Yeah, that's it, I think.

Why _did_ he quit drinking? If I were in his position I know that I probably wouldn't have. To live in this hellhole you need to be at least half drunk to get through the day without killing yourself. I decided to ask him, just to see what he would answer.

"Okay, Rhade." I said while placing my palms on the edge of the table in front of me, "I have to ask. I know that you already said why you gave up drinking, but there has to be another reason. What is it?" Rhade looked up at me. I could feel his darks eyes piercing into mine. I wanted to look away but something aboutthose dark pools just kept me looking. I was entranced. I could see thoughts coming up in his mind behind his eyes. I leaned forward. I had a feeling that he was thinking up an answer but I waited anyway.

"It's bad for you." Was all that he could come up with after minutes of thinking. I knew that he was thinking up an answer.

"Fine." Said leaning back and folding my arms. "Don't tell me."

"It's the truth. Drinking, it's not good for you,"

"Fine, have it your way Rhade." I picked up my glass and held it high in front of me. "Cheers to good health." He brought his glass forward and the glass clanked together.

"Cheers." He said to me as I brought my glass to my lips, sneaking a glance at him while I drank.

ANDROMEDANDROMEDANDROMEDANDROMEDANDROMEDA

A/N: So, what did you think? PLease tell me, oh and the last line was that way on purpose.


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